Gin's Treachery
by Velgamidragon
Summary: Twoshot. The order has come down from the Boss that Gin is to eliminate Akemi once and for all and so he does. Or at least he makes it look that way because there is only one reason the ruthless and efficient Gin chose not to shoot her in the head like his other victims. Some Gin/Sherry fluff in chapter 2.
1. The Plan

**Author's Note: This was an idea I had based on the fact that yes, it is odd that Gin didn't shoot Akemi in the head and even that he left before he was sure she was dead. That was how he killed Pisco, that was how he ordered Kir to kill Akai, and even Bourbon confirmed that was his style. For somebody incredibly careful about not leaving any loose ends, shooting Akemi in the abdomen seems like sloppy work. It wasn't like when he chose to use APTX-4869 to kill Shinichi in order to avoid a bullet trail. This fic will only be two chapters long.  
**

 **Disclaimer: Gosho Aoyama-sama own Detective Conan and I'm playing around with different concepts and characters.**

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 **Gin's Treachery**

The Plan…

As someone very low-ranking in the Organization, Akemi knew it was never a good thing when one of the highest-ranking members, even if you knew them personally, called you out of the blue and ordered you to meet up as soon as possible in an isolated location. She supposed she should be thankful she was asked to meet at a park and not the empty warehouses by the docks. That would just set off all kinds of alarm bells in her head. Granted, the park was not much better off when the meeting was occurring in the middle of the night like now.

With a resigned sigh, Akemi left her car in the parking lot and made her way to the designated meeting point. The darkness and the half-light from the nearby city was wreaking havoc on her vision. Every bush looked like a crouching shadow and the rustling of the trees in the wind sounded like something sinister approaching. And yet, none of these things scared her as much as the creeping chill that seemed to ooze out of the darkness. The pressure it exuded was terrifyingly powerful and it crawled up her back like something alive. She recognized this presence and she dreaded it as much as she had expected it. Indeed, the source of this malefic black aura was the very person who had called her to the park in the first place. She had no choice but to obey and she could only hope as she drew nearer that Gin was not feeling nearly as murderous tonight as his aura otherwise indicated.

Several more meters forward and certain she was going to suffocate from the thick miasma of death and blood lust that surrounded her, she heard the deep, steady rhythm of his voice come out of the darkness. "You came alone?"

Akemi gulped and looked around, but saw nothing. It didn't help that he wore black. "Of course. You asked me to, so why wouldn't I?"

Gin chuckled darkly and she finally caught sight of movement from near a small stand of trees. "It can be very dangerous for a young woman like yourself to go wandering around in the dead of night. You never know what monsters lurk in the dark."

He was hardly more than an indistinct, shadowy figure to her in this darkness, but now she knew where he was. Akemi gave a short huff. "A known danger is never is frightening as an unknown one," she retorted.

"Ah, there's that brave spark of yours," he murmured with a satisfied air.

There was a quick scratching sound and a tiny flame appeared on the end of a match. It was incredible how bright the tiny light seemed after the deep blackness. Gin brought the match to the cigarette already between his lips and lit it. Orange embers burned at the end and he exhaled a thick cloud of the smoke. If he was smoking in the dark like this, then he was confident nobody else was around to see what he didn't want them to. Akemi was just glad that she now had something for her eyes to focus on, at least until the cigarette embers disappeared in a circular arc. Gin had turned around.

"Come, we're heading to my car," he said briskly.

"We are? I thought we were meeting here?" Akemi said, taking a few paces to catch up with the fair-haired assassin.

"Hmph. I had you meet me here on the off-chance that you were tailed. This was never meant to be our final destination."

Akemi rolled her eyes at his paranoia. "Well, where _are_ we going then?"

Gin didn't answer her, but that didn't mean anything. Whether he chose to answer or not was his prerogative and she was _hardly_ in a position to demand otherwise. Still, there was something in his silence this time that felt… disquieting. She followed him back to his Porsche in silence and sat in the passenger's seat once they reached it. It felt odd to be sitting right next to him in his car like this. It was only ever him or Vodka who sat here and all other passengers were forced into the back. He started up the car and accelerated from the curb onto the main street. It was still dark of course, but the passing street lights gave her _some_ visibility.

"Alright, now down to the business of why I called you to meet me tonight," Gin said after a long period of silence.

Startled, Akemi looked around at the street and nearby buildings, but nothing popped out at her and Gin didn't seem to be stopping either. She gave him a perplexed look. "Are we having this meeting in the car?" she asked.

Gin gave a brief nod. "You are not supposed to know what I am about to tell you and not even the privacy of a bar is secret enough for this. This is the only location private enough for the discussion I intend to have."

Akemi stared hard at his profile, the sense of unease growing inside her. She was at the very bottom of the totem pole in the Organization, only allowed to know of its existence and some of its members. She was not someone in a position to be entrusted with secrets, especially not the kind of secrets that Gin carried, but he was telling her a secret anyway and it was definitely _not_ one she had clearance for if this late-night rendezvous and meeting location were any indication. The idea that he would be telling her was absurd because Gin was fiercely loyal to the Organization and it went against his moral compass to betray it. And yet… and yet he _was_! He _was_ betraying the Organization and that scared her more than the man himself.

"Gin… what's going on?" she said tentatively, unable to completely hide the fear in her voice.

His knuckles whitened against the steering wheel before he spoke in a low voice. "'That person' wants you eliminated."

Akemi jumped and she wasn't sure if she was more shocked that the Boss had ordered her execution or that Gin was telling her about it. "But why?!" she demanded after finally finding her voice. "What have I done to warrant it? I haven't revealed the Organization's existence to anyone or betrayed the few secrets I _do_ know, so why does 'that person' want to get rid of me?"

"Because you were dating the FBI Agent and he wormed his way into the Organization through you. You're a weak link in the chain and your close relationship with him only further compromised the Organization's perception of you," Gin said, his tone as cold and emotionless as his eyes.

"But I don't… I don't understand… Why _now_?" Akemi said at last, unable to take her eyes off Gin, but he only continued to stare resolutely ahead. "I haven't seen or heard from him in the two years since he was ratted out. If the Organization was worried about the threat I posed to its security through my relationship with him, then shouldn't I have been killed shortly after it happened?"

"You should have, but you weren't because you are Sherry's beloved older sister," Gin sneered. "It appears 'that person' has been regretting it more and more ever since then, and has only now decided that the threat you pose to the Organization is greater than your status as Sherry's sister."

Akemi turned away from Gin at last and stared blankly down at her hands clasped tightly in her lap. The fact that she had only been alive this long because she was Shiho's older sister didn't surprise her that much. She knew she wasn't important to the Organization and especially not compared to Shiho who had been granted a codename, the highest _honor_. There was only one piece left in the puzzle that didn't make any sense at all. She glanced back at Gin out of the corner of her eyes. "Why are you telling me this?"

Gin exhaled a particularly thick cloud of cigarette smoke from between his lips before answering. "Because I have no intention of following through on my order to kill you."

Akemi's blue eyes widened in shock. She had guessed as much or he wouldn't be telling her, but she had never expected him to admit it so easily.

"Which brings us to why we're here right now," Gin continued. "I will not kill you, but that's not an option. Even if I had the power to change 'that person's mind, you were never important enough to bother keeping in the Organization forever once your sister was ready for her role. It's not safe for you to stay and it won't be safe for her to stay either. In many ways, she's too soft-hearted for the Organization's work and it will get her killed sooner or later. So while you're here, we need a plan to get the both of you out of the Organization alive without letting on otherwise. How would you try and escape on your own if I wasn't involved?"

"Oh, well… I'd want to get the both of us out, but knowing Shiho's important, the stakes would be high. Maybe I could play into the Organization's assumption about my uselessness? What if I tried to buy our way out? Yeah, I would strike a deal with you that I would pay one billion yen for the release of Shiho and myself from the Organization."

"Neither you nor Sherry make that much," Gin commented.

"I know. I would have to steal it. That could even be part of the deal I make. You require I steal the entire one billion yen all at once without getting caught with the caveat being that if I fail, you can kill us both as the price for my failure," Akemi explained. "I would never have to know you told me about the order of execution prematurely and it would give you the perfect excuse to get us out; we would just have to figure out how to make our deaths believable."

Before she could think any further about the plan, Gin gave a derisive snort and shook his head. "It's a good thing you're not really trying to do this by yourself, because what you've envisioned would never work."

Akemi glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Then please, do go on and illuminate the flaws in the plan I literally just came up with on the spot without warning," she said acidly.

"Sounds like you're channeling Sherry right now," he said, and he sounded highly amused. "Very well, I shall 'illuminate the flaws' as you put it. The idea of using one billion yen to buy your freedom is well-justified, but the Organization will sense your lack of effort if you're aiming to fail, and it wouldn't fit your character to put your sister at risk like that. I and others would feel that something suspicious was afoot and then _I_ would be scrutinized if I didn't act on said suspicions, which would defeat the purpose of trying to cover your deaths."

Akemi huffed. He had a point there. "Okay, what else?"

"My dear, this is the biggest flaw of all," Gin said with sinister amusement. "Your version may be what you _believe_ would happen, but the truth of the matter is that no amount of money would be able to buy your way out and I would never let _anyone_ as close to other high-ranking members as you leave the Organization alive, no matter if you were successful in stealing one billion yen or not. The excuse for your death sentence would be secured regardless. The other great flaw in your plan is that no matter what you do, Sherry is too important to the Organization to kill over your mistakes as long as she remains loyal. Your death would be secured because you would be taking measures to leave the Organization, the route of a traitor. If Sherry is to leave, she must take the same route and abandon the Organization on her own terms, or I can't touch her."

Akemi covered her chin with her hand and thought hard. "I don't think it would be too difficult," she said slowly. "Shiho's not a fan of the Organization; it's just a question of figuring out what would cause her to tip over the edge and decide she's had enough."

" _Akemi_ , isn't it obvious?" he purred mockingly and it sent an uncomfortable shiver down her spine. He was loving this. "If Sherry's beloved sister is killed on the Organization's orders, I rather think that should prove to be a sufficient turning point for her."

She swallowed nervously and turned back to the window, looking away from Gin. "Yeah, probably," she murmured in agreement.

"I will take care of covering Sherry's death when the time comes. We have to focus on you first though. The best time to kill you would be after you completed the robbery. You'll call me to let you know you succeeded and we'll meet at a predetermined location – I recommend the warehouses by the docks since they're isolated and out of the way-"

Akemi nearly laughed outright at the irony of having thought that very same thing earlier in the evening.

"-and I will shoot you non-fatally in the abdomen. It's not my normal style, so if anyone questions me on that front, Vodka will vouch for me. He too might wonder why I don't shoot you in the head, but he would never dare ask."

"And I'm not going to be bleed to death in an isolated, out-of-the-way area with no foot traffic because…?" Akemi prompted.

"Because before the meeting takes place, I will call an ambulance and tip them off that a woman was shot at the docks at our meeting location so that they will already be on the way and arrive promptly to save you. You'll be in surgery at that point, so you will have to leave everything else to me to get you out of the hospital alive without anyone knowing. By shooting you in the abdomen, I risk someone like Bourbon finding it suspicious and deciding to check and see what happened to your body. If anyone gets as far as the hospital, the story will be that you died an unidentified woman on the operating table from your gunshot wounds and the trail will end there. The most important thing is to make sure that _nobody_ suspects anything to the contrary. If anyone starts really digging, it would be incredibly easy to prove you're still alive. Preventing any suspicions from arising in the first place is the safest way to go."

Akemi's brow furrowed momentarily, a new thought coming to her mind. "What about Vodka? You intend to have him with you when you pretend to shoot to kill me, so is he going to be involved as well?"

A thick silence settled over the two of them with her words and she sensed Gin's answer before he even spoke. "Vodka's not to know about any of this, and neither is Sherry," he said in a deathly whisper. "Vodka's loyal to me, but he can be careless sometimes, and Sherry's too emotional. It would be too dangerous for either of them to know of this plan that many in the Organization, even I, would deem treacherous."

"Exactly," Akemi said sharply, still watching the scenery pass by through the window. "Even you acknowledge that what you're doing is treason. _You_ who sniff out traitors like a bloodhound and eliminate them with impunity, so _why_? Why are you _really_ doing this? Why are you going so far to protect my sister and I?"

Gin didn't answer and after a beat of silence, Akemi knew he wasn't going to. "Fine, don't answer me, but don't think I can't guess your reasoning," she warned and fell back into the thoughts swirling around her head.

She had correctly guessed that her boyfriend of three years was some kind of secret police officer using her to infiltrate the Organization long before he'd confirmed it for her and she was relying on that same intuition now. Akemi had a death sentence placed upon her head as surely as the seasons changed, and Gin had decided to prevent it. He was only a few years older than her, but they were not friends. They hardly saw each other and they had nothing in common beyond both being in the Organization. There was no reason for him to commit such high-level treason, to defy a direct order from the Boss for her sake, but Akemi didn't honestly believe he was doing it for _her_ sake anyway.

No, she had good reason to believe he was protecting her because of Shiho. He had been obsessively-interested in her sister for years, ever since she came back to Japan from America five years ago. Of course, she did not approve of his interest since he was so much older than her, but she suspected Shiho might have some kind of relationship with him that she was hiding from her. Gin was incredibly confident that her death would cause Shiho's betrayal, so instead of letting everything fall apart, he was working to mitigate the damage that would be caused without his intervention. To be willing to go this far to protect her and Shiho though… even if her little sister ended up hating him afterward? Akemi wondered if she'd underestimated just how strong Gin's feelings for Shiho were. Maybe it really was love and not lust that he felt for her.


	2. In Action

**Author's Note: This chapter is over 9,000 words. I have no idea how it got that long. I did not** **_expect_** **it to be that long! Each '()()()()()' means a POV shift takes place. I was actually good about not shifting perspectives in the middle for once! Contains some Gin/Sherry fluff at the end because I have no self-control.  
**

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… In Action

Shooting Akemi was no different from shooting anyone else with the exception that he wasn't aiming to kill for once. Gin shot her twice in the abdomen, his marksmanship as accurate as ever, and he and Vodka left the scene immediately after. There was no need to stay and wait for the woman to die; that was the impression he wanted to leave Vodka with anyway. Gin had already called for an ambulance in advance of this meeting to tip them off. It wouldn't be long before they arrived and Gin wanted to put as much distance between himself and this location. It would be bad if the ambulance arrived while they were still nearby. Vodka, of course, didn't know of his plan to save Akemi and he intended to keep it that way.

They made it back to his black Porsche without incident and Gin took his place in the driver's seat. He often let Vodka drive his car, but not tonight. Akemi's active participation in the plan had come to an end and it was time he takeover to see her through. He had set the stage, but she wasn't in the clear just yet. There was still much that could go wrong at this point in the game, so he wanted to drive because he wanted to feel 100% in-control of _something_ before he waded out deeper into the murky waters of treachery.

Once the two black-clad men were settled in the car, Gin dialed 'that person's phone number as he pulled out onto one of the main streets, and he waited for either 'that person' to answer or to leave a message in voicemail. A few rings later, he got 'that person' on the line.

" _You have news for me, Gin?"_ 'that person' said expectantly.

"I do. Akemi Miyano has been eliminated," Gin said.

" _Ahh, perfect. You've done well, Gin. Your loyalty to this Organization is truly admirable."_

Gin said nothing. To hear such words at a time like this was like a knife to the gut. "Would you like the details now or later?" he asked

" _You can save me the details for tomorrow, Gin. It's not as if Akemi Miyano will be going anywhere anytime soon."_

"Ah," Gin answered and hung up.

"Hey Bro, we just left Akemi's body behind," Vodka started, but Gin held up a hand to forestall him.

"Don't worry about it. I've already got it covered," Gin reassured him and Vodka seemed relieved to hear it, letting himself relax against the seat and stare out the side window.

Just so long as _somebody_ was taking care of the body, Vodka didn't care who did it or how, just like he didn't care that Gin hadn't shot Akemi in the head per his normal style. He might not even have thought there was anything unusual enough about it to be considered noteworthy. It was for things like that that Gin both liked Vodka and found himself annoyed at him for. If anyone asked Vodka what happened to Akemi, he wouldn't think to mention that Gin had only shot her in the abdomen and not the head. The way he would tell the story, Gin shot Akemi and she died, which was exactly what Gin wanted everyone to believe. He truly could not have had a better partner to accompany him for this endeavor.

"Do you want me to drop you off anywhere in particular or do you want me to take you home?" Gin asked.

"Actually, if you could drop me off at the Blue Moon Club tonight, that would be ideal," Vodka said.

Gin glanced at him out of the corner of his eye then returned his gaze to the road after a beat. "Just don't get anyone pregnant," he warned.

"I haven't yet," Vodka mumbled, his tone only slightly embarrassed.

Gin let it slide without further comment and turned away from the direction of Vodka's home toward the Blue Moon Club. When Vodka was in the mood, he enjoyed seeing how many women he could hook up with in one night and he was generally a popular guy at places like that. Gin supposed it was because he dressed respectably, had a broad, muscular physique, and paid well for services rendered. He was just relieved he didn't have to make such a long trip to Vodka's home instead. Akemi would likely be in surgery for several hours yet, but he wanted to make sure he had everything prepared long before she got out, and he didn't like the idea of spending most of that time in-transit between places. He saw the neon blue crescent moon sign and pulled over to the side to let Vodka get out.

"Thanks, Bro. I'll see you tomorrow," Vodka said.

"Ah. I've still got a full night ahead of me, so if you do something stupid and careless, I'm not bailing you out."

"Geez, you're worse than my mother," Vodka groused and slammed the door in his face.

Gin watched him cross the street with an annoyed expression on his face. "Well, _excuse me_ for caring," he muttered, only belatedly realizing how very Sherry-like that statement was.

He was amused at himself for maybe half a second before reality forced him to sober up. As soon as Sherry found out about Akemi's supposed death, he would never hear those biting quips of hers or share such light-hearted banter with her ever again. She would never forgive him for killing Akemi and by the time she learned he _hadn't_ , she would be safely in hiding and he would never see her again. Maybe she would think more kindly of him then, but it ultimately made no difference. He sighed heavily and pulled back out into the traffic lanes. No matter. There was no point in dwelling on the future to come. He had committed himself to this course of action and he would see it through to the end. There was much work still left to be done.

Out of habit, Gin took a circuitous route to get back to his place of residence and took the stairs to his apartment two at a time, not a difficult feat for someone with his long stride. As soon as he was in his apartment, the first thing he did after he closed the door was remove his hat and coat as he made his way to his bedroom. He tossed them on his bed and started rummaging around in his closet for a change of clothes. Dressed in his normal work attire, he stood out in a crowd just as much as the white-suited Phantom Thief Kid on a dark night. It made disguising himself that much easier. People expected him to be dressed all in black, and he effectively became invisible if he wasn't. He exchanged his black slacks for jeans and his green turtleneck for a navy-blue collared t-shirt. He felt naked without long sleeves covering his arms, and it was for that reason he owned so few t-shirts to begin with.

When Gin looked at himself in the mirror, even he was shocked at the man staring back at him. Except for his face and hair, he really was completely unrecognizable. It made him debate on whether he wanted to add a different coat over his bare arms to hide his gun, as was his inclination, or risk going to the hospital without having his preferred weapon on him. He was still keeping the knife strapped to his lower calf, so he wouldn't be completely defenseless. He decided to go with having extra protection; now he just needed to see if he owned any coats that weren't black. A quick perusal through his closet revealed that yes, he did, and he pulled out a beige jacket with great distaste. He couldn't even remember buying such a thing; the color clashed horribly with his hair, but he put it on anyway. He supposed he should just be grateful the damned thing wasn't _white_. Gin returned to the mirror and frowned thoughtfully at his reflection. The different clothes really did most of the work, but he could do more. This time, he went to the bathroom and opened up the medicine cabinet to retrieve both a hair tie and colored contacts. The items found and set on the sink, Gin quickly ran a brush through his ash-blond hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. Despite his hair's long length, it was very fine and almost impossible to keep in any style for long. A ponytail wouldn't hide how long his hair actually was, but the presence or absence of hair around the neck changed how the face was framed and thus, the viewer's perception of a person's face. It was an incredibly cheap trick, but one he fully intended to take advantage of. With his hair out of the way, he opened up the colored contact box and selected the dark brown ones. No need to draw attention to himself by having an uncommon eye color.

Once he was done, he closed the case and put it back in the medicine cabinet, then took a moment to step back and examine himself in the mirror again. Anyone who knew him would recognize him, of course, but this disguise wasn't aimed at those who knew him. It was to make him somebody innocuous and forgettable to blend in with the average citizen, a wolf in sheep's clothing. The most interesting thing one of the sheep might remember about him would be as a tall man with long hair, but nothing more. His current appearance did nothing to suggest 'Beware! Dangerous criminal here!' and that was all he needed it to do. Satisfied with his work, Gin returned to his room for some other items. He retrieved his gun and phone from his black coat and placed them in the beige one he was now wearing, grabbed one of his fake IDs and some cash from his sock drawer and shoved them into his pants pockets, and picked up a brown paper bag carrying the materials for Akemi's disguise, since she obviously wouldn't be able to leave the hospital as herself.

With all his preparations complete, he left his apartment, but did not approach his car this time. Like his attire, his Porsche made it easy to identify him, so he would have to leave it behind for this particular mission. He waved down a taxi and gave the driver the name of the most likely hospital Akemi had been taken to. While the taxi drove to the hospital, Gin once more went over the basics of the plan he'd concocted in his head months ago. Unfortunately, there was only so much planning he could do for this, so much of it would have to rely on improv work, but he didn't expect to run into any difficulties there. It may be Vermouth's specialty, but she wasn't the only one who could lie and act convincingly.

Sometime later, the taxi stopped at the first hospital Gin intended to check and he got out. He was tempted to pay him extra to buy his silence, but he knew that was unnecessary. He tipped well, but not exorbitantly, told the driver 'Thank you for the ride', careful to use polite language, and made his way into the Beika Hospital lobby.

As expected, it was nearly empty and he strode right up to the reception desk. "Excuse me, was a young woman in about her mid-twenties brought into this hospital's ER a little over an hour ago? She might have been shot."

The receptionist's open-mouthed shock was all the answer he needed. Akemi was here. "Yes, there was a woman like that, but how did you know?"

"I thought so," he said and pulled out the fake ID he'd brought along with him. "My name is Kumashiro Takeki. I'm with the police and I have strong reason to believe that the woman brought in was my sister-in-law. I have received intel that suggests her safety may be at risk even now, so I need to speak with the director of this hospital immediately and privately. Can you arrange that?"

"Y-yes, I can do that. Hold on a moment," the woman stuttered and hastily reached over to grab the phone.

Gin didn't have to pretend to maintain his 'intensely-focused' expression as he carefully watched the receptionist for anything out of the ordinary. She seemed to believe his story, but she could just be a good actor and may try to leave a hint that something suspicious was going on. He did not expect such an action, but there was no such thing as 'too careful' in his line of work (though many would call it 'paranoid'). He had not given the poor girl any time to think about what it was he asking, as had been his intention with his brusque, assertive manner. He was certain there were protocols in place for dealing with this sort of thing, both on the hospital's end and the police's end, and he didn't want to be thwarted at the front desk before he'd even truly begun. The director, being so highly-ranked, could afford to bend rules whereas the receptionist was at the bottom of the totem pole and thus bound by the rules and regulations enforced from on high.

"Officer Takeki, Director Saikyuu will be able to see you in Conference Room B on the sixth floor in about fifteen minutes," the receptionist informed him after a few moments.

Gin nodded in assent. "That will do. I'll meet him there."

Without further prompting, Gin pretended to make his way over to the elevator and took a sharp turn to the stairs once he was out of sight of the front desk. There was still a possibility of security cameras being in the stairwell, but it was less likely than the elevator. So far, everything was working out according to plan, but the next part was one of the critical steps. He had secured a meeting with the director without issue. Now he had to make sure the director believed his story enough to follow through with the rest of the plan. If he didn't have that or if the director wanted to call someone else in for backup or to verify his story, then it would all fall apart. Gin could not remember the last time he'd felt so anxious about the successful completion of an assignment. Perhaps it was because he was completely on his own in this endeavor and the consequences of failure had never been so high nor so personal. Akemi's life, and Sherry's by extension, depended upon his success and failure meant all three of them were marked for death.

He reached the sixth floor landing and cracked the door open to peer through the slit. There was nobody in the hall that he could see, so he opened the door further and left the stairwell. His eyes darted to the plaque of every door in search of the conference room he was to meet the director in until he finally found it midway down the hall. Gin tried the door knob and found it wasn't locked, so he let himself in. No point standing around outside. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told him that the director should arrive in less than ten minutes. He had some time to kill. Gin walked around to the side of the long, rectangular conference table opposite the door and set down the bag he'd been carrying, placing it half-under the table next to one of the chairs, then sat himself down in that same chair to wait.

The conference room door opened a minute early and in walked a rather short man who only looked to be in his mid-forties. Despite his small stature, he carried himself with authority and confidence. This was not a man to be underestimated.

"Director Saikyuu?" Gin asked as he stood up from the table. He towered over him, but he was careful to keep his tone deferential. It was not worth crossing him and he recognized the shrewd expression on the man's face. It was one _he_ often wore when he was sizing someone up.

The director gave a faint smile and extended his hand to shake his. "Yes, and you must be Officer Takeki. I admit, you're not what I expected when Miss. Nanami down at the front desk mentioned that a police officer wanted to speak with me."

Gin shook his hand and conceded the point. "I'm aware. I was working on an undercover assignment when I discovered the intel and I have to move fast to protect my sister-in-law."

The director quirked an eyebrow at him. "And how do you know the woman in question is your sister-in-law? She had no ID on her and we only know her name was Masami Hirota because the two kids that found her and called the ambulance to the scene were already familiar with her."

If Gin had been a younger man, this new piece of information would have completely thrown him for a loop and momentarily distracted him from what he needed to do. His many years of experience enabled him to keep his composure without disclosing anything to his wary adversary, but internally, his thoughts were racing. Why had there been kids present at the warehouses in the first place and how had they arrived at Akemi's location so soon after he'd shot her? No one should have been there. It was not the kind of place for kids to play and it was too late in the day for that anyway. They'd known her alias too, so she knew them or she wouldn't have introduced herself to them. Had they followed her to the docks? No, they couldn't have; he would have seen them. He would have to work through all of that later when he had more time. Right now, he had a director to convince.

"I didn't know for certain until just now. Did those kids really say her name was Masami Hirota?" Gin asked hurriedly.

Director Saikyuu frowned thoughtfully. "That's what I heard from the EMTs who brought her in," he said.

"Then she really _is_ my sister-in-law," he said, letting his expression show barely-contained anger and the weight of his words carry the seriousness of the situation. "Director, just as doctors must respect client confidentiality, what I'm about to tell you is not allowed to leave this room."

The director straightened a little taller, sensing the shift in the atmosphere, and gave Gin his full attention. "You have my word as a doctor. What is it, officer?"

"I wasn't completely truthful with you or your receptionist downstairs when I said I was a police officer, but I hope you will understand why once I've explained the situation. There is a secret organization working for the Japanese government that, officially, doesn't even exist. It is known as the Security Police as part of the Planning Security Bureau, and that's who I work for."

As annoying as that group was, Gin could not be more thankful for its secret existence right at that point. It would be so much harder for anyone to confirm if an Officer Takeki actually worked for an organization if the organization in question wasn't even supposed to exist.

"I was working undercover following a lead on an incredibly sly and dangerous group of criminals when I overheard that an attack had been authorized tonight on a young woman that matched Masami's description."

Gin clenched his hands into fists at his sides in a visible display of anger and bared his teeth. It was all an act, of course, and it felt excessive for someone like him, but emotional reactions were more likely to garner sympathy and assistance. All the director should see was a young officer frustrated and angry about an attack made upon one of his family members that he was unable to prevent. He could quite clearly see that the director was buying into his story as well. Sheep were so easy to fool, but then if _everyone_ was this easy, Vermouth's skills would become obsolete. Pity.

"Apparently there was a rumor that my sister-in-law had discovered one of their secrets and they made the move to silence her before she could take it to the police." He shook his head in seeming despair. "I don't know if she actually did learn one of their secrets or not, but they believed she had and that was enough for them. She doesn't know what I do for a living, so I don't think it was my connection with her that put her in danger. If that had been the case, it would have made more sense for them to target my wife rather than her sister if they were after me."

He released a heavy sigh and continued. "As soon as I had heard what happened and where it had occurred, I called for an ambulance to that location on the slightest chance that maybe I could save Masami, but I was told an ambulance was already on its way. I suppose that it must have been those kids you mentioned earlier that had called for an ambulance before I got the chance?" Gin asked the last of the director who nodded in confirmation. "Once I knew that, it was only a matter of figuring out which hospital she had likely been taken to based on her location, which brought me here as soon as I could feasibly get away. You don't happen to know her current health status, do you?"

Director Saikyuu shook his head. "No, she was still in surgery last I heard. Well, I can certainly understand your concern for your sister-in-law, but I don't understand why you wanted to meet with me and tell me all this."

Gin grinned inside. The fish was biting. Now to hook him and reel him in. "Because the criminals I've been working undercover with know that they failed to kill her and they will stop at nothing to see her dead. Putting her under police protection would be my preferred strategy under normal circumstances, but it's a large criminal organization with a vast network of resources and despite our efforts, the PSB is nowhere close to bringing it down at this point in time. We don't have the resources to set up a constant guard for her long-term and it would drastically interfere with her daily life. These criminals are relentless and will do anything to protect their secrets from exposure, whether the threat is real or not. Where you come in and where I need your help, Director, is to help me fake Masami's death if she survives her surgery."

Director Saikyuu's eyes widened and he took an involuntary step back. "Fake her death?" he repeated. "Does it really need to go that far?"

"It does," Gin said sternly. "Until we bring them down, she will never be safe any other way."

"But what do I need to do? If you asked for me at the front desk, then you must have thought this through, right?" the director asked.

Finally, Gin allowed himself a slight smirk, the first real expression on his face since arriving in the hospital. "I have. Regardless of the outcome for Masami's surgery, she must be listed as deceased. She could be written off as dead due to surgical complications; that's an innocuous reason. If she survives, then before the equipment is turned off, any equipment that automatically records the health status of the patient needs to be manually tampered with. If anyone comes looking into her death at this hospital, I don't want them to find any discrepancies. I trust you and the doctors and nurses here know best what information is recorded and stored and how you would process dead bodies here."

The director looked uneasy but nodded all the same. "Yes, it doesn't happen often, but for unknown deceased, we generally send them to the morgue for autopsy and then they're cremated once the morgue is finished. The name Masami Hirota is the only lead we have to your sister-in-law's identity, so she is basically an unknown to us and it would not be unusual for us to follow that procedure should she die on the operating table."

"Yes, follow that procedure. It will work well for our purposes. The first thing we need to do once my sister-in-law is out of surgery is move her to a secure, isolated ward with as few people as possible seeing her on the way. I'll be able to stand guard and watch over her until she comes around. I'll take care of everything else on her end with making sure she gets out safely. The less you know of that particular aspect, the better. Now about your procedure for sending bodies to the morgue, can you go into more detail about that?"

"Well, yes, but if these criminals you're hiding amongst are really as thorough as you say, wouldn't they find it suspicious that no body actually shows up at the morgue?" the director asked.

Gin really hated thorough-thinking people sometimes, but it wasn't an unreasonable thing to ask in his circumstance. "They would which is why I will be taking care of that after I've seen Masami safely alive out of this hospital. All you'll have to do on your end is file the morgue for an autopsy and I will take care of the rest and explain the situation to the one in charge there. I want to make sure that I have all the information I need about which morgue you use, normal operating procedure, required documents, and any current arrangements between this hospital and the morgue."

"Oh, that information is all in my office. Would you like to take a look at them now?"

"Yes please. I'm afraid I won't have time after Masami gets out of surgery and I'd rather not make a return trip so soon."

"Understood. Please follow me Officer Takeki," the director said with a wave of his hand and Gin followed him out. Director Saikyuu didn't need to know that the morgue, in fact, _would_ be receiving a body tomorrow; it just wouldn't be Akemi Miyano's.

()()()()()

Akemi subconsciously felt the familiar, ominous presence nearby long before she was conscious enough to actually wake up. Therefore, she was thoroughly confused when she finally opened her eyes and saw a strange man in a beige jacket and jeans standing against the wall by the door with his arms crossed and watching her intently.

"Who are you?" she blurted out before she could stop herself, still groggy from the anesthesia-induced sleep.

The man smirked and suddenly, she _did_ recognize him. "It's nice to know I can fool even you with a disguise as simple as this," Gin said smugly.

Akemi scowled at him. "I've never seen you with your hair up and it's not my fault you never wear anything but black."

Gin spread his arms wide. "And that's why it works so well with very little effort on my part," he said proudly. "It's good to see you've already got your spunk back; you're going to need it."

He stooped down and picked up a brown paper bag at his feet that Akemi hadn't seen from her reclining position. He walked over to her bedside and set it down at the foot of the bed. "In there, you will find all the materials you will need for your disguise. I know it would be better for your health to remain here a little longer to rest and regain your strength, but we don't have that luxury. I've secured the cooperation of the director of this hospital in keeping your survival a secret, and so far, no word has reached me that anyone is suspicious of the circumstances surrounding your death. We need to keep it that way, so getting you out of here as fast as possible is the only way forward."

Akemi slowly sat up, wincing a little as pain shot through her abdomen, and pulled the bag towards her to take a look inside. There was a change of clothes, a wig, some hair ties, and a pair of glasses. There was also a face mask, which she had no idea how he'd managed to secure without arousing suspicion because making those himself was _not_ in Gin's skillset.

"I commissioned it from a makeup artist in an actor's guild," Gin said, seemingly reading her thoughts. "Vermouth had no hand in this."

Akemi hadn't realized how much she'd started to worry over that very thing until Gin reassured her otherwise. "The clothes better be my size. I'm already going to have to buy a whole new wardrobe and the less I have to buy, the better."

Gin scoffed. "Who do you take me for? More importantly, you need to be more observant. I entered your apartment two weeks ago to send some of your clothes on ahead to where you'll be in hiding, and you never noticed."

Akemi averted her eyes from the bag's contents and gaped at him in shock. "You broke into my apartment and went through my clothes?!" she exclaimed.

Gin gave her a deadpan stare that reminded her strongly of Shiho. "Yes, I broke into your apartment and went through your clothes. Excuse me for trying to ensure you didn't have to walk around in only one set of clothes for a week."

"Rude jerk," Akemi muttered under her breath and resumed her casual perusal of the bag's contents. There seemed to be several small things hiding down at the bottom. "What in the world…?"

"That would be money for your travel fare and food, your new ID – fake of course – and the key with a road map to your new apartment in Fukushima prefecture," Gin explained. "I rented it out for you months in advance in preparation for this moment."

"Wow, you've really gone all out on this whole disguise and hiding thing, haven't you?" Akemi said, her tone impressed.

Gin gave a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders. "If I'm going to commit treason, I might as well do it completely."

Akemi's brow furrowed slightly, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she reached into the bag for the clothes and hugged them to her chest as she got out of bed. It hurt to move, especially to bend at her waist, but she had no choice, not if she was supposed to remain dead in the eyes of the Organization. Gin watched her carefully, but made no move to stop her as she walked around the bed and retreated behind the curtain to change.

She had barely finished pulling the curtain closed when Gin spoke, his tone suspicious. "The hospital director actually mentioned something interesting I was not previously aware of. I did not expect when I arrived that the hospital would know your alias Masami Hirota considering you didn't have any ID on you."

Akemi froze in fear momentarily. "They did, huh? That _is_ pretty interesting. How did they find out?" she asked, trying to sound genuinely curious.

"You don't know?" Gin asked, and she could hear his disbelief. "Apparently there were two kids who knew you that found you at the docks shortly after I left the area and also called for an ambulance."

She could easily hear the accusation in his voice, that she had led those two kids to their meeting location. She hadn't, but if he suspected they had seen something they shouldn't or if they made a fuss about her being injured, he would not hesitate to find out who they were and kill them, especially to protect the scene of his treachery where there were only supposed to be two living witnesses to the crime. Gin's mercy did not extend beyond protecting himself and maybe Shiho to an extent. It was a bitter reminder of his true nature and eased some of the guilt she felt about having told Conan Edo- no, Shinichi Kudo – about the Black Organization's existence.

"Well, if that's the case, I guess I have to believe you. I ended up passing out from blood loss, so if anyone appeared at the scene after that, I wouldn't know," Akemi said, grateful that she was speaking to Gin through the curtain and not directly to his face.

It wasn't a complete lie; she'd seen Conan before passing out, but she had no idea who this second kid mentioned was. Then she wondered if Gin had intentionally waited until she was behind the curtain to ask his questions. Did he not want to know if her responses and body language would give the truth away? That didn't seem like him.

"So what happens now?" Akemi asked as a change of subject and wondered if Gin would even allow it. "What's the plan after I get all dressed up in my disguise?"

Surprisingly, he did allow it. "After you're disguised, you will promptly leave the hospital ahead of me. Take a taxi to the train station and head to Fukushima prefecture. There should still be a few trains running in that direction at this time of night. That's all you have left to do, Akemi. Just get out of town and hide."

She finished pulling the shirt over her head, the last article of clothing she'd needed to change into, and pulled back the curtain to stare at Gin's profile. He was staring sideways down at the floor and he seemed… rather melancholy. It didn't suit him at all. "You really are risking a lot to help me, huh? I wish I knew how to thank you properly for all you've done to make this work," Akemi said softly.

Something shifted in those fake-colored eyes of his and Gin grunted, "Hmph. Even if I told you, you wouldn't be able to grant it. Just stay hidden and take care of Sherry. I'll send her to you once the Organization thinks she's dead too."

Akemi nodded absent-mindedly and retrieved the wig and face mask from the bag. The mask went on first and it was uncomfortable, as expected. She had to admit it was well-made though. A quick glimpse in a small hand mirror and even she didn't recognize the fifty-or-so-year-old person in the mirror as herself. It was incredibly surreal. She pulled out a few of the hair ties from the bag and bound up her hair in a ponytail that she then braided. She flattened it against the back of her head and placed the gray-peppered wig upon her head over her own black hair. The wig cut off at her shoulders and the bangs were long and straight, hanging well over her eyebrows. They were at that annoying length of being so long they got in the way of seeing, but too short to tuck behind her ears. Akemi had no idea how Gin could _stand_ having his bangs at that length.

"If people saw us standing next to each other with me looking like this, they would think I'm your older sister," she griped as she returned to the brown bag and fished out the glasses. Ironically, they were circular frames just like the ones she'd been wearing earlier when Gin shot her.

"Then it's a good thing we won't be standing next to each other for much longer," Gin said drily.

Akemi rolled her eyes and put the glasses on. Well, at least she couldn't complain that she still looked like Akemi Miyano. She then withdrew the money, ID, keys, and map from the bag and stuffed them into the pockets of the black jacket she was wearing. "Well, I guess this is it then. I'll see you later, I suppose," Akemi said after turning to face Gin.

After she'd spoken, he had stopped staring at the floor and though his eyes weren't the green she knew they actually were beneath the colored contacts, they were no less intense and terrifying. "No," Gin said sharply, his gaze unwavering, his expression unyielding. "If everything goes well, Akemi, then you will never see me again. If I ever visited you, it would only risk drawing attention to your location and then all of our work will have been for nothing. From this moment on, you are dead to me; just another name and face that I'll forget alongside all the others I've killed. Goodbye, Akemi."

His voice was sharp with authority and a frigid warning, the kind of voice nobody would ever dare argue against or backtalk to, and Akemi had no intention of doing so. However, despite that, and the shivers running down her spine, she couldn't help but feel there was something sad lurking beneath it all, and she couldn't understand why. They weren't friends, so why should a parting like this be something to feel... _anything_ over? Maybe it was _because_ they weren't close and it was _Gin_ who was standing there telling her she was dead to the world. He was still incredibly loyal to the Organization, yet it was him who was betraying his principles to protect her, and it was him who was standing there to see her off.

She walked past him in the doorway and whispered in gratitude, "Thank you, Gin."

Of course, he said nothing in reply, but she hadn't expected him to. He'd already given her his farewell and Gin was not the type of man to dwell on thoughts of the dead.

()()()()()

Gin remained motionless leaning against the wall next to the door for a long while after Akemi had left the room. It was mostly to give her time to get out of the hospital and put some distance between them before he made his own way out. Everything had gone smoothly and his responsibility for her was almost complete. He just had to send a corpse to the morgue tomorrow with the hospital's mailing information and paperwork and he would be completely rid of her. Soon, he would have to start planning how to fake Sherry's death. He knew he would not be able to do it the same way he had done with Akemi, and anything remotely suspicious with her would draw far more attention than with Akemi. He did not advertise it, but there were many important Organization members that knew or guessed of his intimate relationship with Sherry, a risk factor he would have to take into account when making his plans. Gin pushed off the wall and walked over to the bed Akemi had been laying in not even half an hour ago. He plucked a couple long, black hairs from the pillow and picked up the now-empty brown paper bag that had carried Akemi's disguise materials. He placed the hairs in the bag and then walked around to where Akemi had changed behind the curtain, placing the discarded hospital garments in the bag as well. He would have to wait until he got home to retrieve his uniform before he burned all traces of her presence.

The evidence in hand, Gin left the room and took the stairs once more. He reached the ground floor and exited the hospital through the lobby without pausing. Nobody stopped him. He flagged down a taxi and gave the driver the address to his apartment once he got in. While the taxi drove, he let his thoughts wander back to Sherry again. He wondered how long it would take her to find out her sister was killed and he wondered how long it would be after that before she became a traitor. How much more time would he have with her? And even after she rejected his presence, for how much longer would he continue being able to see her? These were things he didn't know, things he _couldn't_ know. It all rested upon Sherry's shoulders now, though she didn't know it.

The first thing he did after arriving at his apartment was change back into his normal clothes and the low-key sense of alarm he'd been fighting since he last left his apartment finally disappeared. Semi-disguised or not, he did not like being exposed like that. Properly-dressed, he grabbed his phone and dialed Sherry's number.

()()()()()

Sherry first heard her phone ringing as if through a tunnel from a long distance away, except that her perception of it was disjointed and annoyingly obtrusive. It felt like forever before she realized that the phone wasn't ringing in her dream, but in the real world. Once she did though, she struggled to regain consciousness. With her vision blurred and her head still fuzzy with sleep, she fumbled around on the nightstand for the infernal torture device until she finally latched onto it. She brought it in front of her face and stared blearily at the caller ID on the screen. Gin?! What the hell did he want right now that he couldn't have bothered to tell her earlier in the day? If it was sex, he was out of luck, because if she wasn't in the mood before, she _definitely_ wasn't now! She glared hatefully at his name, but pressed the 'call' button on her phone and brought it to her ear.

"What?" she snapped, making her displeasure with his poor timing known.

" _Did I wake you?"_ he asked.

Sherry rolled her eyes so hard, they could have rolled right into her head. "No. I'm still asleep and I'm just sleep-talking with you over the phone right now, you asshole," she bit out with all the venomous sarcasm she possessed.

There was a brief pause on the other end in which she _swore_ he just smirked at her annoyance with him. _"Sorry. Sometimes you work late hours, so I wasn't sure if you were even home yet,"_ he said.

Sherry raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Did you just say 'sorry'? If you're trying to pass off as the real Gin, you're doing a very poor job of it."

" _Very funny, Sherry. I have one last errand to take care of and then I'm coming over for the night."_

"Now hold on a minute!" Sherry exclaimed in outrage, suddenly wide awake. "You can't just decide to come over here late at night of your own accord merely because you want to see me!"

" _Not want. Need."_

"Huh?"

" _I need to see you, Sherry."_

Her mouth fell open in shock. In all the years she'd known him, she had never heard Gin say he needed her, not without a specific purpose in mind anyway. A suspicious thought crept into her mind and she snapped her mouth shut, her eyes narrowing.

"If you need a woman, then go see Vermouth or something. I'm in no mood for sex tonight," she said coldly. She didn't even know what that woman looked like, but she knew Gin had slept with her before their relationship had begun and she wasn't convinced that he didn't still sometimes see her on the side.

Gin chuckled over the line. _"No sex, just your company,"_ he assured her.

Sherry stopped glaring into the darkness and her brow contorted in confusion as she propped herself up on her elbow. "Are you okay, Gin? You really don't sound like yourself. You're not drunk, are you?"

 _"Oh, you would know if I was drunk, believe me. I become irrationally demanding and hot-tempered. I'll see you soon."_

"Hey, wait, I never said-" Sherry began, but the line went dead mid-sentence. Gin had already hung up.

She blankly at the screen for a moment then suddenly frowned and slammed the phone back down on the nightstand, flicking the desk lamp on in the same breath. "Self-important, pretentious prick," she muttered darkly as warm light flooded her bedroom and she threw back the covers, stomping her way into the kitchen. "Calling whenever he feels like it and imposing himself on other people at unreasonable hours just because he can. Not even considerate enough to tell me when I should be expecting his arrival. I don't know why I even love him."

After flicking on the light, she filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove to boil. She refused to change out of her pajamas just because Gin was coming over, but now that she was awake and forced to expect his company, she might as well make tea and see if she could get some work done while she waited.

Once she had her tea, she carried it with her over to the desktop situated in a corner of her bedroom. She pressed the power button and took a sip of her tea while she waited for the computer to boot up. If Gin was coming over from his apartment, it would probably take him about an hour to arrive, but she didn't know that he was coming from there nor how much time his 'errand' would take. However, he had said 'soon' right before he hung up. She supposed it would be safe to expect him sometime within the hour at the latest.

It was an hour and a half later before she heard a sharp knock on her door. Sherry startled at the sound, given the hour, before she remembered the reason why she was still awake in the first place. Remembering caused her scowl to deepen with every step she took from the computer in her bedroom to the front door. She didn't expect it to be anyone else - and what thief would go knocking on someone's door anyway? - but out of habit, she glanced through the peephole in the door to see if it really was the silvery-haired jerk outside. She quickly confirmed that yes, it was Gin, undid the locks, and swung the door open to glare up at the source of her annoyance tonight.

"On what planet is an hour and a half later considered 'soon'?" Sherry demanded icily.

He did not answer, but he moved forward so fast, she barely noticed except that she was forced to take a step backward and the door swung closed behind her. His hands came up to her shoulders and his lips came down to cover hers, demanding as always, but unusually soft. It completely threw her off and it almost made her forget that she was angry with him. Almost.

She broke off the kiss, though was unable to pull away because of his strong grip on her shoulders, and resumed glaring at him. "Seriously Gin, I don't care how important you are in the Organization, you can't just call me up out of the blue late at night and then force your presence on me just because you feel like it, rude jerk."

Something flashed in those green eyes and for the briefest moment, she had felt his fingers tighten on her shoulders. It was so quick, she almost thought she imagined it, but she knew better. Something she'd said had made him react, but what? It definitely wasn't the name-calling. He wasn't a sensitive about that sort of thing and she had called him worse to his face before. Maybe it was the implied slight on the Organization? That seemed more likely; he could be touchy about that sometimes.

Still, he gave her a wan smile. "My apologies, Sherry. I was at my apartment when I called and the unfinished task I had to do before coming took longer than expected."

The odd smile and the apology reminded her of something else that she had forgotten in her annoyance with him. He had apologized for waking her during the phone call and also said he needed her company. And that kiss just now; for him, it was incredibly tender. Her glare softened into a concerned frown of its own accord and she gripped the front of his black coat in tight fists. "Gin, please, what's going on? You're not acting like yourself and it's starting to scare me a little. You really are Gin and not some imposter, aren't you?"

He started chuckling as soon as she said 'imposter' and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "My dear Sherry, would an imposter know that I deflowered you the winter you turned fifteen during the season's first snowfall? Or of the beautiful red blood of your innocence staining the pure, snow-white sheets upon which you lay entangled with me and trembling with ecstasy?"

Sherry squeaked and her cheeks flushed dark red. "Not… not unless you told someone…" she mumbled under her breath.

"As if I would ever think of sharing such a precious secret," he purred and nuzzled her cheek, kissing the skin right next to her ear.

She closed her eyes, accepting his affection, and leaned forward into his broad chest, her forehead resting just below his collar bone. "I mean it, Gin. You're being unusually gentle and affectionate with me, and you're not even trying to seduce me? It's really not like you; what's the reason?"

"So persistent," he groaned in exasperation. "You know I can't share all my secrets with you, Sherry," he warned.

She sighed with resignation. "More secrets. You sure don't make it easy for a girl to trust you."

Gin finally pulled back and she was able to look into those cold, green eyes once more. "I told you before, didn't I? I will never be able to share everything with you and you will only end up disappointed if you expect as much."

Sherry let her shoulders sag and dipped her head down. "I know. I haven't forgotten," she said quietly. She felt his left hand slid across her shoulder at the same time that his right slid down her side and caressed her hip, and she closed her eyes. "Gin, what are you- Hey!" she gasped and her eyes flew open, for his right arm slipped around the backs of her thighs and he bent slightly at the knees.

In the next second, Sherry found herself hoisted up into the air and she instinctively grabbed onto Gin's shoulders to steady herself. She was now looking down at him and he was looking mighty pleased with himself, like a smug cat laying its kill on its owner's doorstep.

"You talk too much, Sherry," he said with his characteristic smirk and, still holding her in his arms, he carried her to the bedroom.

He set her down on his bed and true to his word, he made no move to undress her or himself beyond removing his hat and coat, not even caring that he had no pajamas to change into. Once he'd laid them over the back of her computer chair, he joined her under the covers and immediately wrapped a possessive arm around her waist, pulling her tight against his chest. He placed one last soft, lingering kiss on her lips before tucking her head under his chin, seemingly content to fall asleep after giving her a goodnight kiss. Sherry was not quite so ready to sleep though.

She absentmindedly stroked her fingers through the long silvery locks within reach while she considered everything that had just happened. While there was a great deal she did not know about the fair-haired man, she would be remiss to say she didn't know him at all. In truth, most of the missing information was in regards to his background rather than his personality and values, and Gin _had_ been unusually affectionate with her this evening. Of course, she didn't mind the extra loving, but it wasn't like him to engage in such transparent displays of affection on a whim. Something must have happened recently, though she couldn't imagine what would unsettle him so. He was Gin: unflappable, highly-feared, and extremely dangerous. There wasn't much out there in the world that phased him.

Actually, his actions reminded her of something she'd either read or heard a while back. It was so long ago, she could no longer remember the original source, but the content had stuck with her. It must have been back when Akemi had first started dating Dai Moroboshi because she had only recently arrived in Japan from her schooling in America and been codenamed, and it was the first _real_ experience she had encountering the world of dating and romantic relationships. Being the inquisitive, science-minded kid that she was back then, she had wanted to know _everything_ she possibly could about this new, fascinating subject. One of the things she had found is that what tended to happen if both parties in the relationship were not invested in maintaining it, then the one _more_ invested in not letting it end would sense the lack of interest in their partner and do even more to try and keep them together to not let the relationship end. Gin's actions were just like those of a man or woman desperate to keep a dying relationship going. The only problem with that reasoning was that she had no interest in breaking off her relationship with him, nor had she expressed or felt any such inclination.

She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, nuzzling deeper into his warm embrace. Well, she supposed she would never know since Gin had no intention of telling her, so she would just enjoy the extra affection he bestowed upon her for as long as he was willing to offer it.


End file.
